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Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (PS4) by jp (Apr 21st, 2024 at 00:26:13) |
This game is way more interesting than I initially gave it credit for (and I might even play all the cases, I'm that curious!)
There's a bunch of cases, you're Sherlock and you gather clues, investigate locations, use your special "eyesight", interrogate suspects, and more. So far, this is what you'd expect.
Some clues become more important and they show up in your "brain" where you can pair it up with another clue (if it's the correct one) to deduce something. Once you have enough of those, you can reach a conclusion. ALSO, once you've reached a conclusion you can decide how to act on it (usually it's either call the cops or call Mycroft - i think...).
What's really wild is that in the brain-connecting clues interface, you can reach lots of different conclusions! (I think it's 4 per case, at least it has been that so far and I've completed two cases). OH! And, as far as I can tell, the you can get it wrong! And, you just move on...the game calls some of them moral choices - which I'm confused by. But the idea that you could arrive at an incorrect conclusion and the game just moves on to the next case is pretty wild. So far, I've gotten both right (because there's abutton you can press that even warns you - like "spoiler alert" and it shows my result in green - which I assume is that I got it right).
Anyways, that's super cool!
Oh, and the game haslots of little mini-games that you play once, and they're part of the story (e.g. taking sherlock's pulse, or arm-wrestling with a sailor)..
The 2nd case is pretty neat - it takes place in the UK, there's a missing train...and there are rich Chilean (and Mexican) businessmen involved! Whoah.
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Fights in Tight Spaces (PC) by jp (Apr 21st, 2024 at 00:19:38) |
This one's a bit weird and I'll confess I didn't play it that much (just played one mission - which is like 1/5 of a full run?). It looks like it wants to be SuperHot, but it isn't - that's ok. But, it has a "play the movie" of what you just did in a level that you would think would play fast and smooth and super action-y. But now, it's slow and it even pauses between card plays...so it looks rather boring, which is a real shame.
As for the game, there's interesting stuff going on, but I haven't fully understood everything:
a. There's a typical energy system for casting, but a secondary system (combo) that lets you play some cards with a combo cost. If you move in your turn you lose combo so it's sometimes tricky to get everything to pull off.
b. While playing I was disappointed (because it seemed unfair) that there are objectives (bonus ones) in each level - and I wasn't getting any because I didn't know what they were! Apparently they're actually shown on screen, but in a place I did not see or notice.
c. The game seemed a bit slow - I was just moving and getting out of the way as I waited to draw into a good hand of cards. This cuts the momentum for sure and also made it hard/impossible to accidentally hit the secret (not really secret) objectives. So, I'm curious to go back and try again with awareness of the objectives. They should help a lot - in that I'm more likely to try to "solve the puzzle" of each turn and hopefully get the bonus objectives.
d. It's strange that you have to pay to heal, but I thought it was neat that you can upgrade several cards (if you have the money) and that some cards are cheap to upgrade - there's different pricing for them!
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Hadean Tactics (PC) by jp (Apr 21st, 2024 at 00:11:34) |
Ok, I've now cleared the game (not unlocked everything, of course) and it really is quite fun and interesting. The 3rd character (which I was waiting on to try out because I wanted to clear the game with the 2nd one) is pretty neat as well though as I write this all I can really remember is that it has an orb mechanic similar to one of the characters in Slay the Spire.
The harder ending is basically another 3 levels, but they get shorter! The last one, if I remember correctly, is just the boss. I don't remember what deck I was running, but it was pretty good - in the sense that I had picked up some good combos..traps and all.
I'm going to stop playing, for now, mostly because the list of games too look at keeps on growing - one a week - because of the design seminar I'm teaching.
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Before Your Eyes (PC) by dkirschner (Apr 14th, 2024 at 13:51:13) |
I've been looking forward to playing this, especially after playing One Hand Clapping, which had a singing mechanic. That game activates your mic and you use your voice, raising and lowering pitch, to interact with the game. Before Your Eyes was similar in that the game activates your webcam and uses your eye blinks as input. Before Your Eyes works WAY better than One Hand Clapping, and it's the better game all around. I figure that detecting blinks (yes/no) is easier than detecting notes along the range of human vocal pitch, so kudos to One Hand Clapping for trying.
Blinking in Before Your Eyes doesn't do anything unless you do it over a prompt (mouse over the prompt, then blink to interact) or unless you do it when the metronome icon is visible, which progresses the story to the next scene. The rules are simple, and it became a game in and of itself for me to blink strategically. I imagined that at the end of A Clockwork Orange, Alex's eyes are forced open so that he could successfully complete this game. At times, I felt like holding my eyes open with my fingers. This is because your eyes will get tired/dry/itchy while playing and you will screw up and blink when you don't mean to, skipping dialogue or ending a scene early. That's frustrating enough. Make sure you do the blink calibration, but I think that no matter how well you do it, it will still occasionally register some non-blinks as blinks. This really didn't happen much for me; through calibration, I think I turned the sensitivity way down, and I wonder what effect wearing glasses had. But like I said, it works surprisingly well.
So, the game itself is narrative-heavy. It's an obvious play on the idea that a life can pass in the "blink of an eye." You're picked up by a ferryman of souls who asks you to tell the story of your life. Back in time you go to remember it: your childhood, your parents, your career, etc., blinking your way through each scene. I won't spoil the story, but there is a twist that I absolutely did not see coming (though I should have paid more attention to the mysterious dark scenes) that changes the narrative and the tone of the game. This is one you can spend time reflecting on.
Aesthetically, it's got a simple visual presentation, sort of painterly, with some really nice piano music. The voice acting is good, with the exception of the girl-next-door (who sounds the same at 10 as she does at 40). For some reason, they also used the same voice actor for your dad and her dad, which made the one scene with her dad calling her very confusing ("Why is my dad at her house?!"). But I liked the dad and mom's performances. I was wondering through the whole game if your character was mute and/or on the spectrum because he doesn't talk--only through a typewriter later in the game--and otherwise expresses himself through his prodigious musical and artistic talents. But I think he's just a silent main character, not actually mute.
Anyway, the game won a BAFTA for a reason. It didn't blow my mind, but it's a neat experience that's worth having. It's short too, doesn't waste your time. I'm considering incorporating it into a class.
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Stray (PC) by dkirschner (Apr 13th, 2024 at 12:00:39) |
Patrick and I have been playing this together this semester, and finished it a couple weeks ago. We were talking after beating it about despite how simple and straightforward of a game this is, it manages to be something new. Playing as a cat (and being able to do cat things like curl up and sleep, scratch things, knock objects off tables, etc., so cuuuute) was novel, and the setting and story were interesting. But really, playing as a cat. I smiled a whole lot throughout the game. The lil companion robot was cute too.
On the other hand, I was often tired and bored while playing, and literally fell asleep during several sessions. Patrick would be making dinner or something in the kitchen, and I'd snap awake, cat walking into a wall, and I'd pretend I had not fallen asleep, and that I was just watching the cat walk into the wall and thinking. Like how my dad always used to claim he was "resting his eyes" when he'd fall asleep on the couch.
I would not call the game exciting. It was a lot of wandering around the city and talking to robot NPCs, fetching things for them. The city is a really good-looking dystopia, and the robots are quirky, but I wish they had more dialogue. You don't get a sense that many of them have personalities besides whatever one-note thing they do. I mean, the lack of dialogue makes sense, and it's not really "dialogue" since the cat can't talk. The fact that you are a cat adds a whole layer of silly to the game. Like, why has this lil robot befriended a cat? Why are all these robots putting all their faith in a cat to save them? Cats don't understand what we're saying to them, and cats do whatever they want! Playing as a cat in a game where you're doing fetch quests (fetching is dog stuff!) and doing things to help people is very un-cat-like.
But, you know what? The ability to play as a cat and do cat things trumps how little sense it makes, and I would play as a cat in this dystopia again. Idea for next time: more cats. And what do you think? Were there cats at the end?! Optimistically, I think so.
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GameLog hopes to be a site where gamers such as yourself keep track of the games that
they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
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if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
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2157 registered gamers and 3105 games. 7607 GameLogs with 13096 journal entries. 5074 games are currently being played.
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Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) by tako_yaki |
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most recent entry: Saturday 26 January, 2008
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GAMEPLAY
The more I play this game, the more I think that it has seriously become a world on its own. Although it is just a video game that you can save, turn off, and then come back to pick up where you left off, it is not any different than a good book like Lord of the Rings, where you can put down and pick up with the characters just as you left them. I really do feel like I'm part of all the conflict that is going on, especially when there are times where the player is allowed to choose one of two or more answers to a question. Kind of like a choose your own adventure type of thing that gives more freedom to the player.
Furthermore, the idea of side quests are appealing to me, because it lessens the seriousness of the game. It makes me feel like Link, or whatever you wish the hero's name to be, has a life outside of this mess that he's be prophesied to take care of. It adds character depth to the two-dimensional being. And I am someone who is always amazed with detail, which is why this game is in such high standings with me. It is, unlike a lot of the other Legend of Zelda games, because they are made simple for the hand-held Game Boy, but I like how this was the turning point for all the other Zelda games that were released for the Game Cube and the Wii. Though I have not played the new released like Wind Waker, Majora's Mask, and Twilght Princess, I am glad to know that Ocarina of Time was the jumping point for the Legend of Zelda games into larger consoles. Meaning, all the games after this one derived their design and gameplay from the original.
I am absolutely in LOVE with the storyline, because it goes beyond just a simple hero's journey. In fact the situation was birthed because of the Hero's mistake, and now he must go about setting things right. The creaters put a new twist on an age old story, and threw in characters that would never be forgotten. Most impressive.
I forget to mention, that although the game is single player there are a lot of opportunities for bystander interaction. I know that before I said there would be zero to none due to the concentration this game required, but I forgot how good it would be to have some added support in the background. Traveling time between areas in Hyrule give ample amount of time to discuss the game. The world of Zelda is actually quite large, and can take a long time when without a horse.
DESIGN
I speak highly of Ocarina of Time because it has a fairly developed plot and people that immerse you in this other world. The game revolves around legends and magic, everything that interest humans, and different races of people that seem to parallel our own world. There is a lack of levels, per say, but there are dungeons that the player is expected to beat in a certain order. Also the game does a great job at interlocking the dungeons by placing important weapons and items needing in one dungeon in another. I think this was a very innovative idea, because games before this placed items accessible as their need came along with the journey. The entire act of LOOKING for the item made this game a new experience.
The basic style of this game was made into a single-player adventure game. However, the dungeons themselves offer a load of puzzles that need to be solved and doors that need to be unlocked. Ocarina of Time even uses real world physics to more from one dungeon level(basement) to the next. For example, jumping off a higher point in order to use Link's weight and momentum to break through a spider web on the floor, which covered the hole that lead to the second basement.
Also the amount of different NPC that you encounter and their importance is also unlike a lot of other games, simply because this game is placed within a span of a 7 years gap. The dynamics you see as young Link and the relationships he has with people and the world changes when he grows older. The worlds become scarier, and the puzzles become harder. Almost like a metaphorical way of depicting the process of aging.
It was also an interesting idea to allow Link to return to his child form whenever he wanted to. By replacing the Master Sword back into the Pedestal of Time Link is able to transform into a child again, and vice versa. In fact, so beat some of the dungeons changing back and forth is required, like in the Spirit Temple where half of the temple needs to be completed as a child before beating it as an adult.
There are very few cut scenes, or cinamatics in this game, although a lot more compared to even older games. It as enough scenes to move the plot around, not like the later Final Fantasy games of Square Nix that had enough cut scenes and cinamatics to make a full length DVD. I don't find it's lack of cut scenes alarming, it has a lot of characters that move the plot along and help answer the player's questions. Including a fairy, Navi, who follows Link around and explains to him the best way to defeat a monster or where to go next. This system does get annoying when you simply want to goof off, but was placed there to help players when they are confused with what to do next. And I admit, I'm grateful for having Navi around when I get stuck on some parts.
Space wise the creators seemed to have based the game off of how one would see the real world as you journey through the land on foot or on horseback. There is a passage between night and day as you move across the land from Lake Hylia to the Kokiri Forest. Also the design of all the different dungeons vary greatly. From inside a large tree, to a volcano, to the belly of a whale, to a grave yard or under a lake. There is no two dungeons that look the same, but have similar puzzles that need to be completed and bosses to defeat. In exploration of a dungeons the space around the hero is very important. You can look in every direction and see monsters approaching. When you get hurt you loose hearts, and there is even a way to increase the number of hearts you have in order to increase the number of hits you can take.
As you move through the story you learn how to use magic, and obtain a magic meter that limits the amount of magic you can perform before running out. However, there are always healing potions to restore life and magic like any good games does. There are even revival fairies, so if you cature one it will come out and revive you when you die. All of these implements make his game player friendly. There is always someone there to help, always a new grotto to discover, and new surprised under ever corner. It is obvious that the creators put a lot of time and thought into the creation of this game, and it's true when people say not to leave any rock unturned, because in this game you might be missing out on a great reward. Like a new weapon or more bombs, or increase in life.
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